UnitedHealth Group Inc (NYSE:UNH, XETRA:UNH) shares opened almost 17% lower at about $293 after the healthcare insurance firm issued weak guidance for 2026.
The company expects revenue of more than $439 billion in 2026, implying a roughly 2% drop from the prior year.
The guidance was well below analysts’ expectations of about $454.6 billion in revenue for the year. Management said the forecast reflects efforts to “right-size” the business.
UnitedHealth said it expects earnings from operations to exceed $24 billion in 2026 and forecast adjusted earnings of more than $17.75 per share, above the $17.61 Street consensus.
“UnitedHealth Group’s 2026 outlook reflects a business delivering durable performance improvement and margin expansion through greater operating discipline and precise execution,” UnitedHealth’s CFO Wayne DeVeydt said in a statement.
For the fourth quarter, UnitedHealth reported adjusted earnings of $2.11 per share, narrowly topping consensus estimates of $2.10.
Quarterly revenue came in at $113.2 billion, slightly under the $113.82 billion analysts had been expecting, according to LSEG data.
For full-year 2025, the company generated $447.6 billion in consolidated revenue, representing year-over-year growth of 12%.
Operating earnings totaled $19 billion, while the company reported a net margin of 2.7%. Cash flow from operations reached $19.7 billion, equivalent to about 1.5 times net income.
The medical care ratio for the year was reported at 89.1%, reflecting a 20-basis-point headwind from loss contracts related to a charge. Excluding that impact, the adjusted medical care ratio was 88.9%, up 340 basis points from a year earlier.